Vicar's Musings for Ordinary Sunday 6

11 February, 2018

THANKS
A big thank you to all those who helped to make the Vicarage Garden Party such a success last weekend: above all, Dr Ree Boddé who assumed the role of head chef, and produced a remarkable menu of 8 dishes of exquisite finger food for 80 people, that just kept and coming for no less than 2 hours! Our thanks also to Laurence and Alexis, assisted by Hannah and Lucas, who all worked tirelessly over the weekend setting up, cooking, serving, and cleaning up; to Carol, Peter, Daniel and Donna, whose help on the day was so professional and generous; to David Ritchie, for his generous gift of the delicious Delatite wines; and to everyone who came, without whom we wouldn't have had a party! A great start to 2018 at The Hill; and the weather turned out to be perfect.

ROUGH SLEEPING
Last week we circulated the "Rough Sleeping at St Peter's" flier, copies of which are now at the back of church and at the welcome table in the hall. Thanks for all your feedback, which was overwhelmingly positive. We will make final changes to the flier once we have received all the feedback, and sought further advice that has been suggested. An issue arising from the process, has been the real risk and perceived threat that our homeless ministry can generate at times. Occasionally (fortunately very rarely) we have individuals on church property who may appear or be threatening; much as happens across Melbourne's CBD from time to time, especially anywhere a little off the beaten track, as we are. During Lazarus Centre hours (daily 7.30am to 9am; and Friday lunchtimes) we have professional staff used to dealing with such situations. Outside of these times, if feeling threatened, it is very important not to engage with such people (eye contact or speech) and to go quickly to a car, public transport, or another safe place. We now have cameras covering the driveway, car park and church, so it is a much safer site that it was previously. Also, you should never feel hesitant about dialing 000 if you are at all concerned. The police respond very quickly in this area (no doubt aided by concerns about Parliament next door).